Axle for railway rolling stock



Aug. 19, 1924. 1,505,261

' O. H. HEISTAND AXLE FOR RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK Filed April 17. 1922 3-H um Mom, [ZHHEJSTANZZ Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

OLIVER H. HEIs'rAnn, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

AXLE FOR RAILWAY ROLLING STOCK.

Application filed April 1'7, 1922. Serial No. 553,501.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, OLIVER H. HEIs'rAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore city, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Axles for Railway Rolling Stock, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to axles for railway rolling stock. Repeated attempts have been made to compensate for the difference in the distance around the outer side and inner side of railway curves, it having long been recognized that such difference causes a slipping of the wheels of each pair that are rigidly connected, and that such slipping not only causes wear on both track and wheels, but also causes a great waste of energy or power in overcoming the friction which is consequent to the slipping of the Wheels. This slipping is not entirely or even nearly eliminated by making the wheels of greater diameter near their flanges, the reason being that all curves are not of the same extent, so that curve-distances vary widely. It has been found impractical to mount the wheels loosely on the shafts or axles; so a prior inventor conceived the idea of providing a swivel in the intermediate part of the axle, between the wheels. However, that invention was and is impractical because of the excessive cost in threading the several elements of the swivel or joint of the axle; and besides, it is impractical because of the dangerous tendency. of the threaded connections to become partly or wholly unscrewed and causing a wreck of the cars and railway on which it is used.

Therefore, the main object of this invention is to provide an improved, yet exceedingly simple and thoroughly practical method and means of swiveling axles of railway rolling stock, so that the slipping of the wheels is entirely eliminated while the danger of disconnection of the swivel is also eliminated.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out or implied in the following details of description, in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a view, partly in section, showing an axle constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional detail view showing the cold outer annulusand its adjuncts in the starting position from which it is forced into the hot hollow cylinder which is formed on the end of one of the andmeans which will now be fully described in the following. 7

The track-wheels are shown at 5 andmay be of any ordinary or preferred construction. They are shrunk or otherwise made integral with two axle-sections 6 and 7 respectively, the latter having a hollow cylinder 8 formed at its inner end, and the open end of this cylinder is choked or partly closed by an annulus 9 which is integrally or permanently united with the cylinder 8 by the process or'method of shrinking, welding, swaging or by any appropriate means or method. I I

The axle-section 6 is integrally or permanently united with anqannulus or collar 10 which is rotatably seated in the cylinder 8 behind the annulus or shoulder provided by the choked part of this cylinder. The part6 is also provided with an integral annulus or shoulder 11, and a journal 12 is provided between the shoulders 10 and 11, this journal having the .inner surface of the annulus ;9 as its bearing. The extreme end of the section 6 may also be journalled or pivoted in a recess or hearing 13 in the extreme inner side of the hollow cylinder 8, and wear-plates or disks 14 and 15, of any appropriate material, may be provided to receive the end thrust of the axle-sections. There is preferably a narrow or thin annular space 16 around the collar 10 to receive and distribute lubricating material, and any appropriate means (not shown) may be provided for replenishing the lubricant; although there is so little relative movement of these swivel elements, that it is doubtful if any replenishing of the lubricant wouldever become necessary.

As onev method of forming this swivel, I preferably reduce the inner end of. the

section 6 so as to form a peripheral shoulsandths of an inch longer than the axial thickness of the annulus 9, so that when the sleeve or collar? 10 is seated against this shoulder 17, it will not bind against the annulus 9 which is bored for a work ing fit on the journal 12. The collar 10 is bored for a shrink fit on the reduced end portion of the axle-section 6, so that if it is put on the reduced end while it is hot and said end is cold, it will shrink and become substantially integral with the part 6 in the same manner in which the wheels '5 become substantially integral when shrunk on. Moreover, the cylinder 8 is bored fora shrink fit with the annulus 9, so that the latter becomes a substantially integral or permanent part of the cylinder 8 when the latter is shrunk on. In Fig. 2, the sleeve or collar 10 is shown seated in its permanent position, the

annulus 9 being just started into the cylinder while the latter is hot and the annulus is cold; while in Fig. 1, these parts 8 and 9 are shown substantially integrally united and constituting a unitary member.

It is not intended to limit this invention to the eXact details of operation or construction here described and shown, but changes may be made within the scope of the inventive idea as implied and claimed.

The disks 14; and 15 may be omitted if desired.

By swiveling the axle as described, the necessity of tapering the treads of the wheels is avoided; and when the treads are not tapered or frusto-conical, but are perfectly cylindrical, as shown, they ride or roll on the middle or highest part of the rails instead of riding on the inner side of the rail as the tapering wheel-treads do. This riding of the tapering treads on the inner sides of the rails depresses these inner sides, wears them down lower and lower, and comparatively soon causes the rails A to have a clearly perceptible inward slope so that the pressure of the tapering wheels thereon not only presses the rails downwards, but outwards as well; and such out- Ward pressure is doubtless the cause of spreading of the rails or track, and consequent wrecking of the train and track. In obviating this tendency of rail spreading, the necessity for much of the present rail-bracing is obviated; and it is believed that the saving in upkeep of the rails and their adjuncts, alone, will far exceed the cost of furnishing all the rolling stock of every railway with such swivel-axles.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A wheel-axle comprising two sections, one of said sections being formed integrally with a hollow cylindrical end provided with a substantially integral inwardly eX- tendingannulus, the other section having a substantially integral collar which cooperates with the said annulus to prevent dis connection of the two sections, said other section being j'ournalled in the first said one of the sections.

2. In a swiveled wheel-axle, the combination of an axle-section including a hollow cylinder having a closedend and an axleend-seat in this closed end, an annulus seated with a shrink-fit in the other end of the cylinder, a second-axle section, the latter being journalled in said annulus and in said aXle-end-seat and provided with means between and cooperating with said annulus and closed end for preventing axial movement of the axle-sections relative to one another.

3. The combination defined by claim 2, said means including a collar which is seated with a shrink fit in said second axle-section.

i In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

OLIVER H. HEisrANn; 

